Lawyers, politicians, and activists are demanding the release of one of Sierra Leone's most famous celebrities, Zainab Sheriff, who they claim was thrown in prison as part of a government crackdown on free speech and political dissent. Sheriff, a singer and reality-TV contestant turned opposition figure, was sentenced in April to four years and two months for incitement and using threatening language.

The charges stem from a speech she gave in January - captured on video and played at trial - where she allegedly said that anyone rigging an election had stolen the people's vote, committed treason, and that they and their families should be killed. Prosecutors took that as a bit more than constructive criticism. During the 2023 election, the Carter Center and other observers had already raised eyebrows about the transparency of vote counting.

Freetown Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, of the opposition All People's Congress, put it bluntly: “A lot of us feel this isn’t about Sheriff’s words. This is about Sheriff being used as a very, very visible, high-profile example of what you must not do in this society now. You must not speak your mind or you can be charged and end up in jail. This is about ensuring that people are scared.” She added, “I am disappointed [in the sentence]. And that’s an understatement. The bottom line is, we’ve heard far worse.”

Arrested on 20 February, Sheriff pleaded not guilty, was repeatedly denied bail, and was sentenced on 14 April. She's now in a maximum-security prison in Freetown. Willietta Hughes, legal manager for the civil society group AdvocAid, called the proceedings “reminiscent of a show trial” and the sentence “ridiculous.” No evidence was presented that Sheriff’s comments actually provoked any public reaction. “We have seen people who have said far worse than what she said and they were either not prosecuted or were given a very low term,” Hughes said. “It’s a laughing issue, but we’ve seen the trend where the law is being utilised as a weapon against people who speak up.”

Sheriff’s case follows a pattern: a year earlier, social media influencer Hawa Hunt was arrested on live TV for posts about President Julius Maada Bio and first lady Fatima Bio, detained for two months. In March 2023, five UN experts wrote to President Bio about the detention of over 40 people - mostly women - who protested rising living costs in July 2022. Hughes warned the case has chilling implications for women: “As women, we are placed in a certain category where you can only say certain things. The moment you say words which appear to be a bit strong, you are considered to be violating some sort of rule or law, and acting against your own gender.”

Women's rights activist Nemata Majeks Walker, founder of the 50/50 Group, admitted in a recent interview that she is “scared” by the climate. “It is sad that women’s voices are being oppressed, but women will continue to speak up,” she said. “They will be guarded but they will continue to speak. It will be difficult to speak the truth because you are scared, but we will continue to express that we have a right to take part in politics, we have a right to hold positions of power.” Aki-Sawyerr summed it up: “It is scary the way the laws are being used. That’s why we have to keep speaking up. We can’t just ignore what I would say is the transformation of our democracy into an authoritarian state.”